Negotiating a Fair Price

Maybe its just me (I highly doubt it…), but I have always had trouble advocating for myself as far as what I am being paid for my work. Whether I was interviewing for a salaried position or am interviewing with a potential client for a project, I am always worried about asking for too much money, and therefore losing out on opportunities because of this.

Here’s the thing: I KNOW what I’m worth. I know all of the years of education, of internships, of real-world work experience I have. I know what I can do, what I am capable of, and how much that SHOULD be worth. But alas, I am not a cis-het-white dude. So I crowd source my rates - what are other people earning in my position? And I price myself lower, because I want to be “competitive” and make sure I am not overlooked because my name is too big to fit in someone else’s mouth or because I am visibly a woman of color. I have been undercutting myself because, somewhere deep down inside of me I know that systemically, I am worth less.

But the system is mistaken, and I disagree. I have EARNED my experience, expertise, and skills. No one else has granted them to me. And so I should (and am trying to) demand what I deserve. At the end of the day, if you are not advocating for yourself and being your biggest champion, you will lose - no one else can advocate for you like you.

In looking for some advice on social media (forgive me, I love infographics!), I came across a post which helped give me words and empowerment during price negotiations as a freelancer and decided to put the post into a PDF file to share here (you can click the link or read below!). The Instagram account (@mollyjacques), is run by another boss-babe freelancer, and I hope that this resource she has generously shared with the world helps you, too.

Check her out on Instagram or at www.mollyjacques.com.